Synergy's July 2026 price increase: what it means for Perth households

Synergy's annual price reset lands on 1 July 2026. Every Synergy residential tariff — A1, Midday Saver, EV Add-On — rises by exactly 2.75%. The DEBS export rate (what you earn for solar sent to the grid) stays the same.

Here's what the numbers mean in practice for different Perth household types.

What's changing

| Tariff | Current rate | From 1 July 2026 | Change | |--------|-------------|------------------|--------| | A1 flat rate | 32.37c/kWh | 33.26c/kWh | +0.89c | | A1 daily supply charge | $1.16/day | $1.19/day | +$0.03 | | Midday Saver super off-peak (9am–3pm) | 8.62c/kWh | 8.85c/kWh | +0.23c | | Midday Saver peak (3pm–9pm) | 53.84c/kWh | 55.33c/kWh | +1.49c | | Midday Saver off-peak (9pm–9am) | 23.69c/kWh | 24.34c/kWh | +0.65c | | EV Add-On overnight (11pm–6am) | 19.38c/kWh | 19.92c/kWh | +0.54c | | DEBS peak export (3pm–9pm) | 10c/kWh | 10c/kWh | No change | | DEBS off-peak export | 2c/kWh | 2c/kWh | No change |

Source: Synergy published tariff schedule. All figures inc-GST.

Impact by household type

No solar: full hit

For a Perth household using 6,000 kWh/year on A1:

• Old bill (FY25-26): $1,942 energy + $424 supply = $2,366/year
• New bill (FY26-27): $1,996 energy + $435 supply = $2,431/year
• Increase: $65/year

This is an average. High-usage homes (8,000+ kWh/year) will see $85-100 more annually. Smaller households or flats on 4,000 kWh/year will see around $45 more.

Solar only (no battery): partial protection

With 6.6kW solar, a typical Perth household self-generates enough to cover around 40-50% of annual consumption. For the same 6,000 kWh/year household importing about 3,200 kWh/year from the grid:

• Old grid bill: $1,036 energy + $424 supply = $1,460/year
• New grid bill: $1,065 energy + $435 supply = $1,500/year
• Grid cost increase: $40/year

But the solar you self-consume is now avoiding a higher grid price — each kWh used directly saves 33.26c instead of 32.37c. With ~2,800 kWh/year of self-consumed solar:

• Extra value from self-consumed solar: 2,800 × 0.89c = $25/year

Net impact: roughly $15/year more in combined energy costs — well below the $65 increase that non-solar homes absorb.

Solar + battery: best positioned

A 10kWh battery increases solar self-consumption to around 75% of household usage, cutting grid imports to roughly 1,500 kWh/year for the same 6,000 kWh/year household (down from 4,200 kWh without a battery).

Grid cost increase on 1,500 kWh imported: 1,500 × 0.89c + $12 supply = $25/year extra

But self-consumption climbs to ~4,500 kWh/year (75% of 6,000) — up from 1,800 kWh/year without a battery. Each of those self-consumed kWh is now avoiding a higher grid price:

• Extra value from self-consumed solar: 4,500 × 0.89c = $40/year more

Net: the rate increase gives a solar + battery household roughly $15/year more value than it costs — the price rise boosts the financial case for the equipment they already own.

The DEBS export rate doesn't move

The Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS) rates — 10c/kWh peak (3pm–9pm), 2c/kWh off-peak — are unchanged.

This matters for the "store vs sell" calculation. With grid import now costing 33.26c and off-peak export earning just 2c, the case for storing solar in a battery rather than exporting it is stronger than before. The avoided-import value of stored solar (33.26c) is now 16.6× the off-peak export rate — up from 16.2× at the current tariff.

Is it worth switching to Midday Saver?

If you have solar, it often is — and this reset doesn't change that logic.

Midday Saver super off-peak (9am–3pm) is now 8.85c/kWh versus the new A1 at 33.26c. If you can shift most of your daytime usage into that window (dishwasher, washing machine, EV charging), you pay 8.85c instead of 33.26c for those hours. The trade-off is the 3pm–9pm peak at 55.33c — if you use a lot of power in the evening without a battery, that can wipe out the daytime saving.

Our calculator compares both tariffs based on your actual usage pattern and tells you which saves you more.

EV owners: overnight charging goes up

The EV Add-On overnight window (11pm–6am) rises from 19.38c to 19.92c/kWh. For an EV charging 10,000km/year at home (assuming roughly 7kWh/100km = 700kWh/year home charging):

• Annual EV charging cost increase: 700 × 0.54c = $3.78/year

Negligible — and if you can shift even 30% of charging to your solar hours (9am–3pm at 8.85c), the savings easily outweigh the overnight rate increase.

What to do before 1 July

If you don't have solar: The 2.75% increase compounds every year until at least 2030. A 6.6kW system at current STC rebate levels (about $1,800 off for Perth, Zone 3, 2026) pays back in 3-5 years under the new tariff, and the solar savings case gets slightly stronger each time Synergy raises rates.

If you have solar but not a battery: Your grid imports are already reduced. But if you're on A1 and self-consuming less than 20% of your solar, switching to Midday Saver might save more than the new tariff's peak rate costs you. Run the numbers.

If you have solar + battery: The increase marginally improves your payback, since every kWh your battery avoids importing from the grid is now worth an extra 0.89c. Nothing to change — your setup already handles this automatically.

If you're on Synergy's old plans (Smart Home, SmartPower): These also increase 2.75%. Synergy no longer offers them to new customers; existing customers stay on them until they switch. If you haven't reviewed whether Midday Saver would suit your usage better, now is a good time.

Tariff rates shown are from the Synergy published schedule, verified in the BillWise tariff database. Use the BillWise calculator to see the projected impact on your specific bill.